The fastest way to gain power is to grasp and manipulate peoples’ fear. McCarthy and the Red Guards exerted great influences on their own societies when there were great terrors: McCarthy skillfully used America’s anticommunism sentiment to bring more attention to himself; the Red Guards were lucky enough to stumble across China’s top leader’s apprehension for losing the “throne”. McCarthy and the Red Guards were also similar in their successes to stay in power. Both had concrete support; both had controlled the population at large with threat. Yet, the two were different in how they fell. McCarthy’s debacle was more caused by the realization of the general population, whereas the Red Guards’ downfall was more determined by Chairman Mao’s own decision. They were also different in their impacts on societies. McCarthy’s impact was more “well rounded” when compared to that of the Red Guards. American society was changed in fundamental ways both domestically and internationally, while the Chinese society suffered mostly on the aspect of education. However similar or different the two are, it is easy to see that they used the weakness of human nature and that it is crucial to the stability of human society to stop the rise of another McCarthy or another group of the Red Guards.
"Anticommunist Hysteria." American Journey Online: The Cold War. Primary Source Microfilm, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/
"Cultural Revolution—China."Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Karen Christensen and David Levinson, eds. 6 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/
Griffith, Robert (1970). The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 233
Gustainis, Justin. "Army-McCarthy Hearings." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 769-771. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 May 2010. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX3 425100471&v=2.1&u=s0003&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w
McCarthy, Joseph (1951). Major Speeches and Debates of Senator Joe McCarthy Delivered in the United States Senate, 1950–1951. Gordon Press. pp. 264, 307, 215.
Wang, Youqin. "Student Attacks Against Teachers: The Revolution of 1966." Virtual Museum of the Cultural Revolution. Ed. Chao Chen. China News Digest International, n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. <http://www.cnd.org/CR/english/articles/violence.htm>
Conclusion:
The fastest way to gain power is to grasp and manipulate peoples’ fear. McCarthy and the Red Guards exerted great influences on their own societies when there were great terrors: McCarthy skillfully used America’s anticommunism sentiment to bring more attention to himself; the Red Guards were lucky enough to stumble across China’s top leader’s apprehension for losing the “throne”. McCarthy and the Red Guards were also similar in their successes to stay in power. Both had concrete support; both had controlled the population at large with threat. Yet, the two were different in how they fell. McCarthy’s debacle was more caused by the realization of the general population, whereas the Red Guards’ downfall was more determined by Chairman Mao’s own decision. They were also different in their impacts on societies. McCarthy’s impact was more “well rounded” when compared to that of the Red Guards. American society was changed in fundamental ways both domestically and internationally, while the Chinese society suffered mostly on the aspect of education. However similar or different the two are, it is easy to see that they used the weakness of human nature and that it is crucial to the stability of human society to stop the rise of another McCarthy or another group of the Red Guards.Links:
Wheeling Speech (Primary)“Decision Concerning the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” (Primary)
Herblock's History: Political cartoons
Army-McCarthy Hearings: youtube (Primary)
Army-McCarthy Hearings Transcript (Primary)
Detailed introduction of McCarthyism
McCarthyism Links
Chinese Propaganda Poster
Basic information on the Red Guards
Virtual Museum of Cultural Revolution
Bibliography:
"Anticommunist Hysteria." American Journey Online: The Cold War. Primary Source Microfilm, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/Collins, Susan and Levin, Carl (2003). "Preface" (PDF). Executive Sessions of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations. U.S. Government Printing Office. http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Volume1.pdf
Cook, Fred J. (1971). The Nightmare Decade: The Life and Times of Senator Joe McCarthy. Random House. pp. 316.
"Cultural Revolution." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 23 May. 2010 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>
"Cultural Revolution—China."Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Karen Christensen and David Levinson, eds. 6 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/
Fried, Richard M. "McCarthyism." Americans at War. Ed. John P. Resch. Vol. 4: 1946-Present. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 119-121. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 May 2010. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX3427300391&v=2.1&u=s0003&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w
Griffith, Robert (1970). The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 233
Gustainis, Justin. "Army-McCarthy Hearings." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 769-771. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 May 2010. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX3 425100471&v=2.1&u=s0003&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w
"Impact on the Young." Discovering China: The Middle Kingdom. ThinkQuest, n.d. Web. 2 June 2010. http://library.thinkquest.org/26469/cultural -revolution/history.html
Jones, Peter M. "Mao's student revolution." Scholastic Update 18 Sept. 1987: 11+. General OneFile. Web. 27 May 2010 Document URL http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A5209851&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF&userGroupName=s0940&version=1.0
"McCarthyism." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. Merriam-Webster Online. 22 May 2010 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ mccarthyism
"McCarthy, Joseph." Korean War Reference Library. Ed. Sonia G. Benson and Gerda-Ann Raffaelle. Vol. 2: Biographies. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 118-125. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 May 2010. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX3411100056&v=2.1&u=s0003&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w
McCarthy, Joseph (1951). Major Speeches and Debates of Senator Joe McCarthy Delivered in the United States Senate, 1950–1951. Gordon Press. pp. 264, 307, 215.
Schrecker, Ellen. "The Legacy of McCarthyism." The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s. University of Pennsylvania, 31 May 2007. Web. 31 May 2010. http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/schrecker-legacy.html
Wang, Youqin. "Student Attacks Against Teachers: The Revolution of 1966." Virtual Museum of the Cultural Revolution. Ed. Chao Chen. China News Digest International, n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. <http://www.cnd.org/CR/english/articles/violence.htm>